The Biscotti Series.....(Part 2)

The great thing about biscotti is that you really can add anything to them (I've seen some great Cranberry & White Chocolate versions) once you understand a basic biscotti recipe.  However you'll want to be careful with any sort of chunky ingredient, as they can cause crumbling when attempting to cut the biscotti loaf into biscuits (for example, finely chopping the nuts before adding them to the batter will make slicing the biscotti loaf into biscuits much easier...).

The 'zester' makes zesting citrus fruit easy....otherwise a grater or a peeler & fine dice will work...

Pistachio-Orange Biscotti

(makes about 36 cookies)

 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup all purpose plain flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, unsalted, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tbsp orange zest

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

1 cup pistachios (ground or finely chopped)

Directions:

(1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

(2) Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl; set aside

(3) With an electric mixer on medium speed, mix the butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract and almond extract mixture has lightened in colour

(4) Add one egg at a time, mix on medium until combined

(5) Reduce the mixer speed to low, add pistachios and mix until combined

(6) Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until incorporated

(7) Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about an hour

-this makes the 'sticky' cookie dough easier to work with

(8) Take dough out of bowl and shape into a log on a floured surface

Pistachios & Orange make for a light and fresh biscotti

(9) Place shaped log on layered baking sheets; fix shape if required 

Layered baking sheets prevents the bottom of the biscotti from burning...

(10) Bake 25-30 minutes, until top is a light golden brown

(11) Remove from oven and let cool slightly (cool enough to work with).  Cut log into 3/4 inch slices (biscotti) with a serrated knife.  Lay Biscotti on side on baking sheet, cut side down.

-No longer need to bake on double layered baking sheets

-Might have to use more than one baking sheet - make sure they are lined all line with parchment paper

-Cut with confidence.  Tentative cuts may cause biscotti to crumble.

(12) Bake for 10-15 minutes more
(13) Remove from oven and let cool on the baking sheet on wire racks.  Once it's cooled a bit, if you find that the biscotti is not hard enough, bake for another 5-10 minutes. 

Can be stored in an airtight container for a couple of months

I found this recipe one the Williams Sonoma website (and adapted it to my liking, because that's what I do...).

Happy Cooking!